Ginny's Oath
by axemanw
Summary: Ginny's guilt over Harry's near death drives her to make a magical oath the consequences of which will change both of their lives forever.
1. Chapter 1

Ginny's Oath

Chapter one – the life debt

Harry went to bed after the feast and fell to sleep almost immediately. He wasn't asleep for long before he had a nightmare about Voldimort and the basilisk. He decided to go to Madam Pomfrey and ask for a sleeping drought. On his arrival to the hospital wing he saw Mr. and Mrs. Weasley having a quiet conversation with Professor Dumbledore in a corner near the entrance. Ginny was in a bed about half way down the room and was watching them through her eyelashes pretending to be asleep. "Mr. Potter, why are you wandering around the castle after curfew?" asked Madam Pomfrey. "I couldn't sleep. Wanted to ask if I could get something to help me." He responded. She just pointed at the nearest bed and nodded at him. Harry climbed onto the bed and waited as she went to her office. When he looked back he saw Ginny slipping out of her bed and quietly making her way towards him. She wouldn't meet his eyes and was looking down at her hands as the wrung them together at her waist. "Harry," she whispered, "I…I, um, well, I wanted to say thank you for coming after me this afternoon." "I'm so sorry you got hurt and, well, let me just…"

"I Ginevra Molly Weasley hereby acknowledge the life debt I owe to Harry James Potter. In recognition of my actions resulting in his injuries and near death I pledge my life, my allegiance, my service, my love and my magic to him for"

"GINNY STOP!" Screamed Mrs. Weasley while running towards them.

"as long as I live. So mote it be." The wand Harry now saw in Ginny's hands glowed bright gold showing that her magic had accepted the oath.

A warm feeling began to fill Harry as Ginny dropped to her knees and began to tremble. "Uh, er,.. what?" Harry stuttered. Ginny started to wheeze and the trembling became more violent as Mrs. Wheasley tried to reach her, but was unable to actually touch her. Mr. Weasley yelled "Quickly Harry. What did she promise to you."

"Um, I'm not sure what's happening…something about a life debt, and then she said her life, and and magic and…"

"Harry, please lay your hand on Ginny and tell her you accept her oath, and then I will try to explain to you what is happening."

Harry did as Mr. Weasley asked, and Ginny stopped shaking, only to fall to the floor at his feet. He bent down and lifted her to the bed and her breathing evened out. She seemed to now be in a deep sleep.

"What happened? Why did she seem so distressed?" Harry wondered aloud. Mr. Weasley took a deep breath to calm himself and looked worried. "Ginny must have felt a lot of guilt about.."

"But it wasn't her fault!" Harry interrupted.

"I know. But let me try to explain." "Can you remember exactly what she said? Sometimes the wording of these kinds of things can be very important."

"Uh… she said "I, um, Ginevra Molly Weasley, I didn't know her name was Ginevra, hereby acknowledge the uh, life debt I owe to Harry James Potter. In recognition of my actions, erm, resulting in his injuries and near death I pledge my life, uh, my allegiance, my service, my uh, my l love and my magic to him for as long as I live." Mr. Weasley, what's a life debt, and what does that other stuff, uh, the life and service, uh and magic…"

Mr Weasley sank into a chair as he mumbled to himself "well she did manage to do the thing properly didn't she." "Harry," he said aloud, "I'm afraid this may be a bit difficult to understand to someone raised in the muggle world. As magical people we have to be very careful about swearing things to each other, or making promises and oaths. Especially when using our life or magic in the oath. To break such an oath will cost you whatever it is that you have sworn it on, in this case Ginny's magic would be forfeited to you and she would die."

"Thank you for accepting Ginny's oath, as she would have died if you had not. You see, she gave you her life and her magic, and as you didn't know what she was doing her magic started to transfer to you. If you hadn't accepted her offer, then once her magic transferred she would have given her life."

"But why would she do that? I certainly wouldn't want that to happen, why…"

"I can't answer as to why Harry. I can only try to explain what she has done. A life debt is formed when a wizard or witch knowingly places themselves in danger to save the life of another. I don't know everything that happened in the chamber of secrets, but your fighting a basilisk certainly fills the requirements of a life debt. By acknowledging the debt, Ginny has committed to doing everything within her power to protect your life until the debt is satisfied. That means she would either have to die in your place, or encounter the same level of risk that you did when the debt was formed."

"But I don't want her to have to do that. I'm not worth…"

"Ginny feels that you are. And so do the rest of us Weasleys when it comes to that. You did save her life after all. As for the rest, she has essentially given herself to you completely. Her magic will ensure that all of the components of her oath will be followed until she dies. Her allegiance will always be to you before anyone else, she will serve you willingly whatever you ask of her, and she will love you for the rest of her life."

"But how can she know that, I mean she's only 11. I'm not sure what love even means."

Harry argued. "If she didn't love you then the oath wouldn't have worked." Mr. Weasley answered.

Madam Pomfrey (after seeing to Mrs. Weasley's anxiety and providing her a calming drought), interrupted to hand a sleeping potion to Harry and send him back to his dorm. When he tried to protest, she simply ushered him out the door telling him any more discussion could wait until the morning when everyone was well rested. After all, this was a hospital wing and not a conference room.

HGHGHGHGHG

Harry awoke to the sound of movement next to his bed the next morning. Someone was rustling around in his truck and whispering to themselves. He rolled over and reached for his glasses, and was surprised to see that it was Ginny, and she was now standing next to him holding a towel and a pair of his boxers. "My lord, I'm sure this is your trunk, but I can't seem to find any clothes in here that are the right size" she told him. "Um, why are you in the boys dorm, and uh, what are you going to do with my underwear?" Harry asked. "Well, you can't take a shower and not change, can you?" "I'm getting your things ready for you, and then while you are in the shower I will pack your trunk for you so you can go straight down to breakfast and be ready to get on the train home."

Harry was stunned. He didn't know how to react or what to say to that, so he did the easy thing and started to get up and go to the shower like Ginny told him. He was half way to the door when he stopped and asked her "what did you call me?"

"I addressed you as my lord" was her response.

"Why?"

"Because I am your servant and that makes you my lord." She replied in a tone that seemed to point out he was being rather thick headed.

"What do you…oh..um, we need to talk about this I think…" He was starting to wake up and remember last night more clearly now. "Let's try to find a quiet compartment on the train away from the others and work through this."

After showering Harry returned to find clothes for the day laid out on his bed, and all his belongings packed neatly away in his trunk. Ginny was nowhere in sight. He dressed quickly (if a bit nervously) in case she came back and was relieved to be left alone for the time being. He then made his way down the 7 floors to the great hall for breakfast where he found Ginny saving a place for him across from her brother Ron and their friend Hermione. She was loading a plate with eggs, bacon and potatoes, and had already buttered some toast and poured pumpkin juice for him. Hermione watched with a raised eyebrow as he took his place and mumbled a quick thank you under his breath to Ginny. Ron didn't seem to notice anything unusual as he was focused on the last Hogwarts meal of the year. Harry ate quickly and the 4 friends left to head out for the carriage ride to the train station, where they boarded and found a compartment in the last coach as was becoming their habit.

As the train pulled out of the station Harry looked at Ginny and said come with me, so she followed him out of the compartment and up the aisle towards the front of the train. Ron shook his head and asked Hermione if she knew why Harry was so quiet today and what he and Ginny were doing. "I don't know Ronald, but we don't know what they went through in the chamber of secrets and it might help them if they can spend some time talking about it." "It must have been horrible, and they both nearly died down there, so I hope they can help each other recover from it."

"Recover from what?" "Madam Pomfrey let them go so they must be ok." Ron stated.

"Madam Pomfrey is a Healer, but she isn't going to help them with their feelings or mental state." She replied.

"What do you mean?" "Ginny's probably really happy now that Harry saved her." "She's talked about him for years and said how she wanted to be his girlfriend." "I bet she drives him crazy with her constant chattering and whining, she can go for days and never let up about him." "Gets annoying to tell you the truth."

"Ron" she started "When someone has a traumatic experience it can change the way they think and how they react to things. Sometimes it even caused their whole personality to change. They might suddenly take things more seriously, or become more worried about things. Harry and Ginny have lived through something that nobody else can relate to, so the best way to understand it is to talk to each other about it. It's good that Harry had someone he can talk to as he usually just keeps everything to himself and that isn't healthy." Hermione lectured.

Harry found an empty compartment a couple of cars forward and pulled Ginny inside. "Now. Tell me why you did it."

"Why I did what?" Ginny replied.

"Why did you swear that oath last night. Why did you force me to accept this…this uhm, accept you being a servant or whatever it was. What choice did I have? You made it so I had to agree and now You're stuck with me forever and I'm not what you think I am Ginny. I'm not a hero and I'm not this powerful wizard that people make me out to be. You have to take it back. There had to be a way out of this so you can live a normal life."

"Listen to me Harry. I needed to do this as much for myself as for you. You don't know everything that happened this year. Tom started out so friendly and nice. He listened to me and helped me with my homework and accepted me for who I was. I wanted to come to Hogwarts for as long as I can remember, but when I got here it wasn't what I thought it would be. Instead of adventure and fun I found myself being laughed at for my second hand books and hand me down robes that were from my brothers. I don't care that we aren't a rich family, but it hurts when people can't see passed the lack of money to judge you for who you are. Tom cared about what I had to say and gave me advice on how to get along. But then I told him about how scared I was when you got hurt and how I had always wanted to meet you because I was told stories growing up about how you defeated Voldimort. He started asking questions about you and wanted me to follow you and spy on you and tell him all about you. I didn't hesitate to so what he asked because it was what I wanted to do anyway and so I've been watching you all year and you know what I realized? I realized you're not who I thought you were. I started to know you for who you truly are, and I fell in love with you. Not with the hero from my bedtime stories as a little girl, but with the quiet, sometimes shy boy who treats others with respect and tries to get along. You go out of your way to help others, but refuse to allow them to help you in return. Never causing trouble, but sticking up for what you believe with all of you're heart. I knew you would never accept that I owe you for what I did to you and I needed to take responsibility for what I had done. Because I also need to stand up for what I believe in. My foolish behavior nearly got both of us killed, and I need to atone for that in some way. I knew you wouldn't let me, so I spent several hours last night determining how to word my oath so that you had to accept it. I know you well enough to know you wouldn't let me suffer if you could help it and so by pledging myself to you I am now able to help you and hopefully both of us will be better for it. I really do love you Harry. I tried to destroy Tom's diary when I realized he was trying to get to you and then when I saw you with it I thought it was too late and he had won. I knew I had to steal it back so I would be the one he hurt instead of you, but then he made me leave that second message and I knew I was going to die and I prayed you wouldn't come and then hoped that you would but I was so scared for you and…"

The tears turned to sobs and Ginny struggled to get herself back under control, but Harry told her they would finish talking later. He almost wanted to stay mad at her, but couldn't manage to find the energy. They went back to their friends and napped until the train arrived back in London.


	2. Chapter 2

Ginny's Oath

Chapter two – at the burrow

Harry awoke as the train slowed into King's Cross Station to find Ginny already on her feet struggling to lift his trunk from the luggage rack. "Don't hurt yourself, I can carry my own things" he told her."

"No. I can manage. I'll just stack it on top of mine and then you only need to carry Hedwig." She answered.

"Ginny!" Harry yelled, waking the others from their sleep, "I can't let you carry my trunk through the station even if I wanted you too. Think about it. Everyone watches me all the time already and if they see you carrying my things I will look like an ass and they will start talking about you too. No. It's better for both of us of we leave here like normal. I'm still not sure about this whole magical oath thing anyway. I don't need a servant, and I'm not sure either one of us knows what we're doing."

"What are you talking about Potter", Ron interrupted. "What's all this about a servant. What did you do to my sister?"

"Leave him alone Ron," Ginny growled at him. "He didn't do anything to me, I am trying to help him. Besides, it's not like you were worried about me for the last 10 months so don't try to act all protective now. This is between Harry and I, and Mom and Dad are aware of the situation, so we don't need your interference."

Hermione just stood there gaping at them as if they were a particularly difficult puzzle she needed to solve. Harry could tell she wouldn't rest until she knew what was going on, and would surely be angry at him for his role in Ginny's new status. Although he didn't know what he could have done differently, Ginny really had trapped him into this even if that wasn't her goal. He opened Hedwig's cage to let her fly to Privet Dr, and stumbled by them and out the door dragging his trunk behind him. Ginny followed mumbling about 'useless brothers' and 'big mouth gits' under her breath. "I'm going to ask Mom to invite you to the burrow straight away. You shouldn't have to put up with those relatives anymore" Ginny told him.

"No. It's fine. Dumbledore says I have to go back there for the summer" Harry explained.

"What's _he_ got to do with it? He's just the headmaster of the school, he can't tell you where to spend your summer or anything else not related to Hogwarts." Ginny obviously didn't think much of Dumbledore judging by the way she was getting worked up.

"He didn't say. Only that it was for the best, and to keep me safe" Harry returned. But he was starting to realize she had a point. 'She's right though. Why would Dumbledore be so interested in me? And why was he the one who sent me to stay with the Dursleys after my parents were killed?' he thought.

"I don't like this." Ginny said. "I'll have Dad bring me to your house tomorrow and we'll figure this out. Besides, I can't very well look after you form Devon can I? It's nearly 200 miles away."

"NO!" he exclaimed, "you…you can't come there. The Dursleys hate me and they hate magic and anything to do with it. They won't allow you to be there anyway and I don't want them to have the chance to hurt you."

"If they hate magic then why did your parents leave you in there care? That doesn't make any sense. Surely your parents would have wanted you to be with people who care about you. Anyway, I'll have Dad with me tomorrow, so they won't be able to do anything with him there and he can pick you up and we can go somewhere and try to figure out what's going on and why Dumbledore is trying to keep you there." Ginny was insistent so he let it go.

"I've gotta go" Harry said as he turned towards the barrier that led to the muggle side of the station. Ginny grabbed him and pulled him into a hug. "I mean it, Harry. I do love you and I will be here for you." She pulled away and let him go as Mrs. Weasley hugged her and started to fuss over her. Harry turned and left to go find the Dursleys.

HGHGHGHGHHG

Arthur Weasley was a simple man. He didn't care about what people thought about him. Politics, power and money didn't matter. What he did care about was family. His wife Molly and his 7 children were his whole world and he would do whatever it took to keep them safe and happy. He tried to spend time with each of his kids every day, whether playing a game of chess with Ron, telling Percy about things at the ministry, laughing with his twins Fred and George, or reading books to his only daughter and youngest child Ginny. He knew his children well, and so it's no surprise that he noticed how quiet Ginny was at dinner that evening. "Ginny", he said, "How about you and I do the cleanup tonight to help your mother?"

"Sure Dad" she answered. After all she needed to talk to him anyway.

"So what has you so worried?" Arthur asked when the others had left the kitchen. "I assume this has something to do with a certain black haired boy?"

"Yes. But it's not just him. It involves Professor Dumbledore too. And his aunt and uncle." Ginny paused. "Why would Dumbledore be the one who determined where he was taken to live after his parents were killed. Harry deserves better than to have to stay with those people. Surely James and Lilly Potter wouldn't leave there child with people that hate magic. Didn't they leave a will or something? I mean they planned ahead enough to leave him some gold, so why didn't they name a guardian for him? I just don't understand this and Harry didn't even know he was a wizard until Hagrid showed up…"

"Hagrid?" interrupted Arthur.

"That's what he told Ron. Hagrid came to give him his Hogwarts letter and took him to Diagon alley to get his school things after he turned 11. That's who told him he was a wizard and about his parents and Voldimort" She replied.

Arthur jumped at the name but said nothing for a moment.

"That's odd. Normally one of the senior staff goes to the home to explain the wizarding world to those who grew up with muggles. I mean Hagrid's a nice guy and all, but let's face it he's not the cleverest of people. I wouldn't think he would be the best choice to introduce someone to the magical world. Harry isn't muggleborn though, so maybe it was assumed he knew about us already" Arthur stated. He didn't sound very sure about this though.

"Dad, I need you to take me to Harry tomorrow. I can't fulfill my oath if I can't go to him, and he needs to be around people who actually care about him. Would you drop me off there in the morning? I have enough saved to get home on the knight bus, but I can't afford to ride both ways and Harry was afraid of how the Dursleys would react so I think it's better if you are there when I arrive."

"Maybe we should both go. Yes, we'll both go and pick him up for the day. We can take him to lunch and.."

"And take him shopping."

"Shopping?"

"Yes. When I packed his trunk this morning I found the only clothes he has that fit are his school robes. Everything else is at least 3 or 4 sizes too big. There's that shop in Diagon alley that Mom goes to that has decent used clothes. Let's get him a few things that fit so he can at least look in the mirror and see something other than sloppy oversized clothes. He needs to see himself for who he is, not what his relatives want him to be" she said.

"I'll see what Molly says. I'm not sure we have enough this month, but we can always set a little aside until we can do something for him. By the way, you know that Professor Dumbledore was there when you made your pledge to Harry. He asked your mother about it last night, and again this morning. He says he needs to know what is going on so he can make sure Harry doesn't make any wrong decisions. I asked Molly to wait until we can all sit down together before talking to people outside the family, but you know how she follows Albus and thinks we should ask his advice. She wants to see if he can undo the oath without causing harm to either you or Harry."

"NO!" Ginny was getting angry now. "It's none of his business anyway. I know she almost worships him, but think about it dad. The 'Great Albus Dumbledore' didn't solve the problem last year. A couple of second years did. Even his care of magical creatures teacher couldn't figure out it was a basilisk being set on the school. All of the clues Harry and Hermione had were there for Dumbledore to see. The dead roosters, the spiders leaving the castle, and he already knew Moaning Mertle was the last victim of the monster. Either he's not as brilliant as people say he is or he was negligent and placed the lives of the entire school at risk. And for what? What reason could he possibly have for not shutting down the school. I know he couldn't open the chamber. Only a parselmouth could do that and that means Harry or I, but he could have taken steps to protect the students and staff and he didn't. I don't believe for a moment he didn't know exactly what was going on in that school and who was causing it. He was willing to risk my life and Harry's for some reason known only to himself. Maybe I deserved to die for being so foolish, but Harry did nothing wrong and spent the entire year being scorned and ridiculed and then risked his life for me and although it wasn't exactly Dumbledore's fault he did nothing to help. I can't believe mom would want anything to do with him once she realizes that." Ginny turned on her heal and stormed from the room muttering about 'that scheming old wanker' as she climbed the stairs to her room.

'She has a point' thought Arthur to himself. 'better have a talk with Molly about all of this'. It turns out he didn't need to bother. He found Molly in the sitting room, eyes full of tears. She had heard Ginny's ranting about Dumbledore and realized maybe he didn't have Ginny's best interest in mind. "I need to go talk to her and assure her that we will stand behind her" Molly whispered. Arthur nodded and embraced her before she left to go see her daughter.

"Ginny?" Molly called through the door. "Can I come in?"

"Sure mom. Ginny sounded resigned to a conversation she would not like.

Molly opened the door and found Ginny sitting on the floor with her legs pulled up and her arm around her knees. Tears were starting to leak from her eyes and her shoulders were trembling. "I heard what you said about Professor Dumbledore and I must say…"

"NO!" Ginny wailed. "I don't want to hear it. I can't believe you would take his.."

"Wait Ginny, that's not what I was going to say. I heard what you said and it made sense. I don't know what Dumbledore's game is, but it obviously doesn't have the best interests of you or Harry in mind. I am here for you and will stand behind you in this. I can't say I'm pleased about this oath to Harry, but I surely won't go to Dumbledore when, as you said, he could have stopped this months ago and did nothing. I will, however, ask your brother William to look into what can be done. As a curse breaker he may know a bit more about magical oaths than the average wizard. Maybe he can help us fix this.

"THERE IS NOTHING TO FIX!" Ginny shouted. "I love Harry, and he needs that love. He needs me to show him that life can be good, and he can be happy. He has never known joy. Mom, didn't you hear what Fred and George told you last summer? Those people kept him locked in a room with bars on the windows and stuffed cold tins of food through a hole in the door. He was treated like a prisoner in his own home! I'm surprised he isn't angry at the whole world for the way he's been treated. And it's not much better at school the way people stare at him and talk about him. I meant every word of that oath and if you try to break it I will simply swear it again." Ginny turned away and faced the wall as tears of sorrow for Harry and anger for her mother streamed down her cheeks.

"Oh Ginny, I…I just don't know how to deal with this." Molly wrapped her arms around her little girl and held her. "It's just, well, you're not yet 12 and you've committed yourself to this boy for life. More so than even a marriage as you've promised your life and magic to him. I only want the best for you. I'll make you a deal. I will ask Bill if he can look in to this, but we won't do anything without talking it through together first. It may be a waste of time anyway as it might be impossible to change. Can we do that at least? It would make me feel better to know what your options might be. In the mean time you need to make sure you do whatever is required to fulfill your vow to Harry as we don't want any problems. Let your father and I know if you need anything and we will do whatever we can to help. You know we love you, and Harry too. Don't ever forget that. Arthur and I are on your side."

"Thanks mom. That does make me feel a whole lot better. I'm going to try to sleep now. Dad is taking me to Harry's tomorrow and I want to be at my best." Ginny replied.


	3. Chapter 3

Ginny's Oath

Chapter 3 – The Elf Council

"All to be standing for the summer session of the Elf Council" called Jippy as the Elves gathered in a clearing in the forbidden forest. "High Elf Doxy to preside"

"You may be sitting" Doxy stated, bowing to the gathered elves. "We have many things to discuss tonight. First however, is the hearing to determine the fate of Dobby. Will the prosecution please come forward and state your case?"

"Yes, High Elf" Counselor Moory began. Dobby is being a disgraced elf. He was given _clothes_ of all things. He is having ideas above his station and strong will. Was able to work against his family and manipulate his own freedom. And now is claiming to be friends with a wizard. Not just any wizard either, but the Great Harry Potter himself! It must be lies. No wizard has ever treated our kind as anything other than beneath them. He should be having his magic stripped and sent into the forest to die. Elves without families have no purpose and we need to show an example to others not to follow his path of manipulation and lies! If word gets out that elves can turn against their masters we will all be killed. After all, we alone know all of our families secrets and are sworn to protect those same secrets. The wizards will slaughter us all to keep themselves safe."

"And for the defense?" Doxy called.

Dobby came forward with his ears up and his head held high. He knew that what happened here tonight was life or death for him, but resolved to face it with all of the bravery that his friend Harry Potter had shown when facing He-who-must-not-be-named. "Asking your patience High Elf, but can we send someone to ask the Great Harry Potter to attend? He will tell you about how he is helping Dobby to leave bad old master. Dobby only did what was best for all elves. Old master was trying to bring back You-know-who and surely it was better for all elves and not just Dobby to prevent that. Dobby didn't ask for the Great Harry Potter to help free him. Dobby was just as surprised as anyone when the Great Harry Potter tricked old master into giving Dobby a sock. Not that Dobby is complaining, sir. Even death in the forest is better than serving old master. And Dobby is not be lying sirs. Great Harry Potter did say he was Dobby's friend. Please sir, just ask him to come and he will be helping not just Dobby, but all Elves. His care for others is what makes him the Great Harry Potter after all."

Dobby's friend Winky stood up. "I will go to the Great Harry Potter and ask him about these things. I will not bring him here though. Harry Potter is too important to waste his valuble time on elves. Who will come with me? I think 2 or 3 elves should go so no one can doubt the answers."

Several elves volunteered and the High Elf chose 2 others to go with Winky.

Albus Dumbledore was getting worried. He still had not heard back from Molly Weasley and needed to know what Ginevra had sworn to Harry Potter. He knew it was a strong magical oath because he had seen the gold light from her wand and saw how it prevented Molly from interfering. He knew it was serious because he witnessed her reaction when Harry didn't respond right away. Harry couldn't know about magical oaths because he had purposefully kept Harry away from wizards to prevent him from learning too much before it was the right time. Then he remembered. Madam Pomfrey was in the room. Probably she heard the oath. He threw a pinch of floo powder in his fire and called "Hospital Wing" as he stepped into the fireplace.

"Good evening Poppy" He smiled at her. "I wondered if you could help me with something."

"What is it Headmaster?" Madam Pomfrey replied.

"You were nearby last night when Miss Weasley made her promise to Mr. Potter. Did you happen to hear what she said?"

"Now Albus, you know I can't repeat what a patient says! If my charges don't trust me with their confidences they will be reluctant to come and see me when they are in need and we can't have sick and injured children running about the castle afraid of seeing a healer can we?"

"Poppy, I think you misunderstand me. I don't want to break her trust, but after all this isn't about her injuries. I just need to know how Mr. Potter is involved in this." As he said this he caught her eye, and focused on her memory of the event. It only took a moment to see her memory as he was a master of legilimency. Madam Pomfrey never even noticed the intrusion.

"No, Albus. I will not repeat what is said in confidence." She exclaimed.

As the Dursleys finished their dinner Harry's uncle Vernon was just starting to rant about Harry being an unwanted intrusion on their life. Just as he paused to take a breath there was a loud CRACK and 3 small creatures appeared in the kitchen. All had long nosed and floppy ears, and eyes as big as tennis balls. The tallest was about 3' and carried a scroll of parchment. Harry began to panic. The last time an elf appeared on private drive it hadn't gone well for him, and he figured 3 elves would be 3 times the trouble. Elves just didn't seem to understand that the Dursleys would make him pay for their actions. Just them showing up would probably get him a locked in his room for a week, and that was if he managed to avoid a beating from Vernon.

"Mr. Harry Potter, sir" the middle elf started. "I is being Winky, sir. I just need to ask you a few questions about the elf named Dobby, sir, if you wouldn't mind."

Vernon Dursley was turning a dark red with anger at this point and picked up a pan from the stove. He started to swing towards Harry, but the tallest elf raised a hand and Vernon was thrown through the door and down the hallway. His head hit the wall, and left a Vernon sized hole in the drywall. "You will not be interfering in Elf Council business. You will be leaving Harry Potter alone." He stated forcefully.

Harry was worried about what was going to happen when the elves left, and also concerned about what was up with Dobby, so he asked "Winky, was that your name? What did you need to ask about Dobby? Is he ok? Is there a problem with him?"

"It's true!" the third elf nearly shouted. "He does care about Dobby!" All three elves began to bow to Harry and murmured to themselves about 'the Great Harry Potter' and 'the Goodness of Harry Potter'. Harry interrupted them.

"What is this about. What's going on with Dobby."

"We is here to find out if you and Dobby is being friends and if Dobby asked you to trick his old master into setting him free" declared Winky. "But we seeing now is all a misunderstanding. Dobby shouldn't be on trial. He is telling elves the truth all along. Forgive us Harry Potter, sir, but we must be going back to make sure Dobby is not judged guilty. Dobby will be fine now thanks to the Great Harry Potter."

"I am glad I could help Dobby, but please send an owl if you need me in the future. As you can see the Dursleys don't appreciate magical creatures popping into the house. I'm going to have to try to find a way to make it up to them after you leave."

"Not to worry Harry Potter, sir, elves have strong magic and the muggles will not remember we were here."

"NO!" Harry was in a state of panic now. "Don't do any magic here, I've already been warned about it once when Dobby did a hover charm last year. I can't be getting anymore ministry notices."

"Do not worry, Harry Potter, sir, Winky will mask the magic and the ministry will never know. Elves not answer it wizard ministry. Elves only answer to bonded family or Elf Council." And with a loud CRACK the 3 elves were gone. Vernon stood up and stumbled from the hallway wondering what had made him trip, and His wife Petunia just seemed to be dazed. Harry's cousin Dudley just seemed lost as usual.

Harry was exhausted when he finally got finished cleaning the kitchen and got into bed that night. He was worried about a lot of things. What would Hermione think about this mess with Ginny? What was this mess with Ginny about? What was up with the elves? Was Ron mad at him and would their friendship be effected? What about Dumbledore and his involvement in Harry's life? He tossed and turned well into the night before finally falling asleep.

Harry had just finished the clean up after breakfast the following morning when the door bell ring to announce the arrival of Ginny and Mr. Weasley. Fortunately Uncle Vernon was at work and Aunt Petunia was gone to the market. With Dudley out running around the neighborhood that meant Harry was the only one home, so there wasn't any problem with the Weasley's arrival. They decided to go to Diagon Alley for the day so Harry could get a bit of spending money from his vault and they would go shopping at the store Ginny told him about. Harry wanted to take them to lunch in muggle London for a burger as he had really liked it when Hagrid took him before his first year. He thought Ginny would enjoy a coke or maybe a chocolate shake.

Albus Dumbledore paced back and forth in front of his fire thinking about what he learned last night. Ginevra had pledged herself to Harry and was putting his plan at risk. He needed Harry to be open to his instruction and direction. Ginevra was from an old pure blood family and would no doubt know how the wizarding world works. The only thing keeping him hopeful was that she was Molly's daughter and Molly was very loyal to him. Maybe he could make this work after all. And if not, well, with no Ginevra there would be no problem so…

He through some floo powder in the fire and called out "the burrow" as he stuck his head in the green flames.

"Molly" he called. "Can I come through and have a word with Ginevra? I need to ask her some questions about Tom's diary. I want to try to find out how it was made so I can prevent any other cursed items from harming others."

"I'm sorry Albus, but she isn't here this morning" answered Molly.

"Oh, do you know when she might return? I can call back later" he persisted.

"No, she's with Arthur running some errands. I don't know how long they will be, and I'm not sure she's up to answering questions right now anyway. She's still coming to terms with it all and had nightmares last night. Best we give her some time I think."

"Whatever you think is best Molly my dear. You are her mother after all. Will you call me when she's ready to talk?"

"Yes. I think that would be best. Good day, Albus." Molly closed the connection.

Harry, Ginny and Arthur arrived at Gringotts just as the goblins were opening the doors to begin their day so they only had to wait a short time to see a teller. Harry presented his key and asked to be taken to his vault, and was surprised to be taken by the same goblin who had helped him before.

"Hello, Griphook" he greeted the surly looking goblin. Griphook only grunted in return. Harry remembered what Hagrid had said about goblins not being friendly. Arthur decided to wait in the lobby as the gringotts carts made him a bit queasy, but Ginny went with Harry and was thrilled at the ride through the tunnels. When they arrived at Harry's vault Griphook took his key and opened the door. Harry started to fill his money bag with galleons when Ginny interrupted him.

"My Lord" she started, "where are all of your things?"

"Please Ginny, just call me Harry from now on."

"Ok. But you didn't answer my question. Where are all of your things? The Potters were an old family and surely there would be more left for you than just money. There should be family portraits, and jewelry and papers. Mayby even wands from important members of the family. You know, like keepsakes and items that would be passed down? Where is everything that should have been left to you?"

Harry was stumped. He had never thought about it, but Ginny was right. He knew his parents house was destroyed as Hagrid had told him about it, but there had to have been other properties at one time.

"Uh, um I don't know. I never really thought about it." Harry answered confusion evident on his face.

"Well," Ginny replied "If nothing is here then we need to find out where it's all been stored. There must be something left after all. Even the Weasley have family heirlooms that get passed down. I'm using Grandma Prewett's wand, and Mom has Grandma Weasley's silverware."

"You didn't get your own wand before Hogwarts?"

"No. Mom needed to save a bit last year as there were five of us going and she had to buy all of those extra books for Lockhart."

Harry added a few more galleons to his bag.


	4. Chapter 4

Ginny's Oath

Chapter 4 – Homeless Harry

Harry was unusually quiet on the cart ride back up to the lobby. Ginny had peaked his curiosity about his family. He hadn't really thought beyond his parents before, and wondered about extended family. What had happened to his grandparents? Where had they lived? What were their names and what were they like? He began to feel very lonely and he looked down at his knees hoping Ginny didn't notice his watery eyes. Ginny reached over and laid her hand on top of his and leaned her head on his shoulder, but didn't disturb his thoughts.

When they got back outside Harry let Ginny lead him to the clothing store she had visited with her mom. She seemed to really enjoy having him try on different kinds of clothes while she figured out what sizes he needed and what kinds of clothes he looked best in. She picked out a few pairs of jeans, some T-shirts and a belt that didn't need extra holes added. "Ok Harry, we're all done here. But you still need some shoes. Do you want to go now or should we get lunch first?"

"Lunch, I think." Was the reply.

He paid for the clothes and they made their way toward the Leakey Cauldron and the exit to muggle London. As they passed Ollivanders, Harry reached for Ginny's hand and dragged her inside. "Is there something wrong with your wand?" Mr. Weasley asked Harry as he followed them through the door.

"Not really" said Harry answered. "But I need to ask Mr. Ollivander something."

"What did you need to know Mr. Potter?" Mr. Ollivander asked as he appeared from the back room. "Oh. I see you have Miss Weasley with you. I expected to see you last year."

"That's just it" said Harry. "You told me when I bought my wand that everybody's wand is different. Ginny is using her grandmother's wand and I wondered if it was possible to check if it's working properly for her."

"Your grandmother's wand? Well, sometimes a family member can use the wand of an ancestor, but it is a rare thing to get the best magic from a wand that hasn't chosen you. What kind of reaction did you get the first time you picked up your wand Miss Weasley?

"Well, it did felt slightly warm and kind of felt like it was pulling something away from me" she answered.

"No, No, that won't do at all. Hold out your wand arm and let us see what we can do."

"But…" Arthur started to protest.

Harry interrupted him. "I want to do this for Ginny. She helped me with the clothes and she made me realize I need to find where my family's possessions have gone. If she's going to be helping me then I want her to have a proper wand. We can call it a Christmas present for last year as I didn't get her anything then."

While Harry was talking Ollivander had started handing wands to Ginny. Just as Harry said Christmas Ginny had picked up a wand and squealed. It shot out a fountain of red and gold sparks much like Harry's had done.

"Wow! I never felt anything like that before. It feels like…like it's a part of me. It _wants_ me to use it." She was bouncing up and down with wide eyes and a huge smile on her face.

'I never realized how pretty she is' Harry thought. He had never seen her smile like that before, and decided he wanted – no _needed_ – to see it again.

They passed through the Leakey Cauldron and into muggle London where they found a McDonalds close by and had lunch. Ginny decided that chocolate shakes were better than pumpkin juice, but thought her Big Mac was a bit too much and kind of messy. Besides, she still needed to get Harry's shoes for him. She insisted that he needed at least three pairs. He needed dress shoes, athletic shoes and a pair of boots for winter. It took most of the afternoon to finish shopping, and Harry had seemed distracted the entire time. "Harry", she asked, "What are you worried about?"

"I'm still thinking about what we talked about in my vault. I want to know if there is anything I'm missing. Who would I ask about it? Why wasn't I informed of anything? Do my Aunt and Uncle know what is going on and are they hiding things from me?"

Mr. Weasley heard their discussion, "Maybe I can help with that Harry. I will check the records at the Ministry for Magic when I go back to work tomorrow and see if I can find anything. If they left a will, it would be on file there. Also, if the only thing in your vault is money, then it's probably a trust vault and the rest of your property will be held until you come of age. If so, then there should be a record of that at the ministry as well. It would tell the name of your family's solicitor, who would then probably be able to answer the rest of your questions."

"Wow. I never would have thought of that" Harry responded.

It was getting late in the afternoon, and Arthur knew that Molly would be getting worried, so he told them it was time to go home. They took Harry back home first, and after a short argument he finally convinced Ginny that she didn't have time to put all of Harry's things away for him and that they really needed to get home.

The rest of July went well for Harry and Ginny. Mr. Weasley would bring Ginny over in the morning as he went to work and pick her up on his way home. Harry was careful not to let the Dursleys know she was there and his father's old invisibility cloak proved very useful. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia would leave a list of chores every morning that Harry was to complete, then Ginny would try to get Harry to let her do everything. He would (of course) refuse to show her how to use the muggle appliances or lawn mower so she would have to accept that she could only help him instead of doing everything for him. Having Ginny there was a huge help for Harry. Not because she did some of his work, but because he had someone there who didn't treat him like he was worthless or a burden. Things went really well until Harry's birthday and then something happened that would change their lives for the worst.

"BOY! Get down here!" Uncle Vernon practically screamed at him. "Yes?" Harry questioned.

"My sister Marge will be here tomorrow. And you will NOT be doing any weirdness around her while she is here or there will be hell to pay."

"How long is she staying?"

"A week. And we have told her you go to a school for delinquents called St Brutus's. You WILL be sticking to that story or I'll be locking you in your room for the rest of the summer."

Harry was extra careful that week to keep Ginny hidden. He couldn't convince her to stay away, but she did agree to stay under the cloak at all times. On the last day of Marge's visit things got out of hand when Aunt Marge started drinking and going off on Harry's parents, calling them drunks and blaming them for leaving Harry with his relatives. Harry was very angry and his magic responded causing Marge to start to blow up like a balloon. Uncle Vernon was more angry than Harry had ever seen him, and started to reach out to grab him, but instead he caught Ginny when she stepped in front of him still under the cloak.

"Who the hell are you?" Vernon shouted when the cloak slipped off of her. "Where did you come from?" Vernon kept going without waiting for a response. "BOY! GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" He bellowed. "DON'T EVER COME BACK HERE AGAIN! I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU'RE FREAKY BEHAVIOR AND I DON'T EVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN!"

Vernon moved towards Harry, both hands extended reaching to grab him, but Ginny was quicker and threw the invisibility cloak over both her and Harry and pulled Harry out of the way. They backed out of the room towards the front door, but before they got there they heard a loud CRACK! And the house shook causing several pictures to fall from the fireplace mantle. Fortunately this distracted Vernon and his sister's screams redirected him to the fact that she was floating out the back door. He turned to try to catch her and Harry used the distraction to his advantage. He darted up the stairs to his room and retrieved his wand, stuffed his clothes in a backpack, and ran back down to the hallway where Ginny was standing. They started for the door again, but heard several popping noises from outside of the house that they recognized as wizards apparating and they froze. They backed against the wall in a corner of the hallway as the front door exploded inward with a loud BANG! Lucius Malfoy was standing in the doorway with several other men behind him that they didn't recognize. Harry was frozen in shock, and Ginny tried to get him to move, but he ignored her and waited. Malfoy spotted Aunt Petunia in the kitchen and pointed his wand at her. "Where is Harry Potter?" He demanded.

She didn't even hesitate. "I think he's upstairs in his bedroom" she declared.

"Goyle, Nott, take care of the muggles. Make sure there are no witnesses. Crabb, come with me."

Malfoy and Crabb started up the stairs as the others went through into the kitchen. Ginny shoved Harry out the front door and down the front walk. They could hear screaming from the house as they stumbled along the pavement, Ginny pushing Harry as he tried to return to the house. "Harry, you can't help them. And besides that, Your uncle threw you out and your Aunt just gave you up to Malfoy! She had to know he meant to harm you and she didn't even pause to think about it. That noise and the house shaking must have been some kind of wards failing when your uncle told you to leave."

They walked along in silence for a few minutes and then she stopped suddenly. "I'm sorry" she whispered. I should have listened to you and stayed away this week. He wouldn't have gotten so mad if he hadn't seen me there."

"No. I got angry and blew up Aunt Marge. You were trying to help me get away from him and the rest was an accident. Let's just figure out what to do now. I need to find a place to stay until September."

"Don't be silly. You will come to the burrow and stay with us."

"I don't want to put your family in danger. You saw what happened back there, and I care about your family."

"Do you think the Dursley's house was the only house with protective wards around it?"

"I don't even know what that means. I just know Professor Dumbledore made sure I came back here. I guess now we know why. He must have been the one to place the wards there."

"Let's get the Knight Bus to take us to the burrow" suggested Ginny. "We need to call Dad at work so he doesn't show up to get me from your house."


	5. Chapter 5

Ginny's Oath

Chapter 5 – Chaos at the Burrow

"Captain, there are bodies in here." A fireman was working his way through the burned out remains of #4 Private Drive. "This one has a knife next to it. I think we should get the Police and Arson investigators in here."

The Captain agreed and made the call. It only took the detectives about 10 minutes to arrive, and in the next 5 minutes they determined that they had a murder on their hands. They began to question the neighbors, and shortly realized they only had 3 bodies, and there were 4 residents at #4. A youth named Piers Polkins told them the missing boy's name was Harry Potter, and that he was a trouble maker. Another neighbor (an Arabella Figg) said he was often neglected by the Dursleys. They determined that Harry needed to be questioned as he was the #1 suspect in the murders and fire. As they were packing up the bodies to take them to the morgue they noticed a strangely dressed old man watching them from the end of the street, but before they could question him he disappeared.

Albus Dumbledore returned to his office at Hogwarts with a concerned frown on his face as he wondered what had made Harry turn violent against his family. He had a few contacts in the muggle court system and asked to be kept informed as to the progress the police were making. He knew he needed to find Harry before the muggles did as there was a prophesy that foretold of Harry being the only one to rid the world of Voldomort. He decided to start with Ginevra Weasley, and apparated to the Burrow where her family lives. He arrived and found Molly in the garden picking vegetables for dinner. "Molly, have you heard from Harry today?" he inquired.

"No Albus, and Ginny's not here either" came the reply. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Are Ginevra and Harry together? There has been a bit of trouble at Harry's home and it is imperative that I locate him right away. The muggle police are looking for him as well. I'm worried that Ginevra might get mixed up in all of this if she isn't already involved."

Realizing she would have to deal with Dumbledore sooner or later she decided to get it over with. "Come on inside and I'll make some tea."

"Thank you Molly. I'll try not to take up too much of your time."

With a loud BANG the purple knight bus appeared on the dirt path between the town of Ottery St Catchpole and the odd looking house called the Burrow. Harry and Ginny stumbled off of the bus and leaned on each other as they tried to get their balance and walk towards the Weasley's home at the same time. Ginny spotted the gardening tools left in the yard and the open back door. "Someone's here," she whispered. "Mom wouldn't leave the vegetables laying in the yard, and always closes the door to keep insects out."

"Let's go around to the side of the house and check who it is before we go in." she suggested.

"That sounds like a good idea" he agreed. They went to the kitchen window and Ginny peeked carefully through the gap in the curtains. Spotting Dumbledore, she whispered to Harry to put on his invisibility cloak and they moved on to the back door.

"…and then set the house on fire. I arrived too late to stop the muggle policemen from investigating and they are looking for Harry." Dumbledore was saying as Ginny opened the door. She walked towards the stairs as Harry scooted into the corner behind her.

"Ginny dear, were you with Harry?" Molly moved her head slightly to show she wanted a negative response.

"I was this morning" Ginny stated, "I left before his Uncle was due to return. He doesn't like Harry to have visitors."

The old professor looked at Molly and when he saw her back was turned he quickly removed his wand and cast a spell that seemed to freeze her. He then turned to Ginny and muttered "legilimens". She began to see her memories pass in front of her, starting from when she had sworn her oath to Harry. Dumbledore was just getting to that morning's events when "MOM!" Ron yelled as he slammed the kitchen door open, "When are we going to have dinner?"

In the distraction Harry moved quickly behind Ginny and threw the cloak over her head. He then pulled her through the door and they moved as silently as they could out of the back garden and into the surrounding woods. As they passed through the tree line Harry looked back over his shoulder and watched as Dumbledore cast several spells in an attempt to stop them, but none seemed to have any affect at all. They walked until late in the evening trying to decide on what their next move should be. Knowing they were being pursued by the Ministry for Magic, as well as the muggle police and Dumbledore they knew they needed to get far away from the burrow and stay out of sight. At the same time they couldn't use magic to help as they would be detected by the ministry. They had abandoned Harry's trunk in the escape from the burrow, and Ginny had nothing but the clothes she was wearing plus they didn't have any money on them. "Harry, do you think Hermoine would be able to help us?" Ginny asked.

"We can't ask her. The Ministry and Dumbledore will be watching her to see if we show up there. Do you know what that spell was that Dumbledore was using on you?"

"No" she replied. "But it made me remember every time I was around you or thinking about you. I think he was searching for something in the memories. I couldn't stop him. If Ron hadn't come in the door he would have known you were there."

"He did know. I'm sure of that. He must have been watching the Dursley's house somehow to know about the attack and get to the burrow ahead of us" Harry stated. "We need to find a place to stay until we can figure out what to do. I think we should try to get to London. Two kids without adults around will stand out in the countryside."

"Exeter" Ginny said.

"What?" Harry asked. "Exeter. There's a park in Exeter where a bunch of people live because they don't have any place else to stay. My mom always rushes us passed it when we have to go shopping for stuff we can't get in the village here."

"How far away is it?" Asked Harry.

"I don't know, but it only takes about 30 minutes to drive there so we can probably be there by nightfall."

Several hours, a few wrong turns, and well after dark they finally found their way into Exeter. The problem was that Ginny didn't know exactly where the park was that she had seen before, so after wandering the city for a couple of hours they finally decided they needed to find a place to sleep for the night. Hungry, exhausted, and lost they found a deserted warehouse and huddled together in a stairway under the invisibility cloak. Sleep didn't come easy for them though as they both worried about how they were going to survive.

Morning came, and Harry woke to a tickling feeling in his right ear. He brushed it away, but a few moments later it returned, along with a soft "woot". "Hedwig!" Harry practically shouted at his owl. "I'm really glad you're ok. Listen, I need you to go stay with Hermoine for a while. I don't have any way to get food for you, and we can't blend in with the muggles if you are with us. I promise I'll come get you as soon as its safe, but I need to be able to hide right now until we can figure out what we are going to do. Then police think I killed my relatives and they will notice us easier if we have you with us." Hedwig gave him a sad look, but bobbed her head and took flight. Harry and Ginny got up and made their way outside to try and find the park and something to eat.

As they left the warehouse (under the cloak of course) they spotted a man waiting for his bus reading the newspaper. Under the large E&E logo was the headline FAMILY MURDERED IN SURREY followed by a large picture of Harry with the caption Wanted For Questioning. "Come on" Ginny whispered and pulled him by the arm into a nearby alley. We might be invisible, but if you stand there on the pavement staring at that man someone's bound to bump into you. We need to get moving. I see a bakery up the road, maybe we can get something to eat there.

"Ginny, we don't have any money to pay for food."

"I know, but we have to eat. We'll just have to borrow some food. I'll distract the cashier, and you go in under the cloak and see what you can gather." She said. "We can pay them later when we have some money".

Harry thought about it for a moment. 'I guess we have no choice' he decided. "all right, let's go ahead."

Ginny messed up her hair a bit more, and rubbed a bit of dirt on her face before wandering into the store. "We don't want your kind in here!" the shop keeper yelled at her. "Go on, Get out!"

Ginny looked up at him and sighed. She started to turn around and "accidently" hooked her toe on a display rack bringing it crashing to the floor. The shop keeper lunged at her, but she ducked under his arm and around the corner into the next aisle. Ginny ran back towards the counter and through the line of waiting customers as the clerk stopped to pick up the display rack. She hesitated until she felt Harry's hand touch her shoulder and then scampered for the door as quickly as possible. Turning into the next alley, she slowed down as Harry slipped the cloak over her. Fortunately they weren't followed.

They stopped a few blocks away and sat on a stone garden wall in front of some town houses and slowly ate the bread rolls Harry had managed to steal. They both kept their eyes down and said nothing as the feelings of guilt overcame them. "I'm sorry" Ginny whispered, as her eyes filled with tears.

"No. You were right. What else could we do?" Harry put his arm around her shoulder and she leaned into him.

A few days later Harry wondered why it didn't seem to bother him anymore when he borrowed something. By then they had borrowed a few changes of clothes, more food, and a trolley from a local grocery. They never did find the park, but their warehouse kept them out of the weather.


End file.
